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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: clip · cap · row · bulb · club · pitcher · branch · squash

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. clip — for paper
  3. club — a group
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. squash — to crush
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cap — of ice
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. row — to paddle
  24. club — for golf

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