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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · cold · mark · bulb · clip · present · suit · bank

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mark — a grade
  6. swing — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. swing — in golf
  9. present — a gift
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. suit — to fit
  12. present — there
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bank — for money
  19. present — the time now
  20. bank — for money
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com