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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 124 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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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: club · swing · firm · clip · pound · bulb · bark · pitch

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bulb — for light
  3. swing — to play on
  4. club — for dancing
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — steady
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. firm — a company
  17. swing — music
  18. pound — a weight
  19. swing — in golf
  20. club — for golf
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bark — to shout
  24. club — a group

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