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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: swing · roll · charge · clip · wake · bulb · net · field

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. net — for catching
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. wake — a trail
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. charge — in control
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. net — after costs
  11. clip — a video
  12. roll — a list
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bulb — for light
  20. swing — to play on
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. roll — a cake

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