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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: patient · clip · lean · face · swing · bark · ball · bulb

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bulb — for light
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. lean — thin
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — a video
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lean — to bend
  15. swing — music
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. swing — to play on
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — for paper

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