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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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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: mark · perch · land · bulb · swing · file · ground · clip

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. file — a document
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — a country
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. perch — the fish
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mark — a grade
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. swing — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mark — a trace
  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