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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 · stick · wake · bulb · squash · bark · mine · swing

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — music
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bulb — for light
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — for paper
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bulb — for light
  23. clip — a video
  24. mine — for digging

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