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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — a video
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — for money
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. firm — steady
  7. bank — for money
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — letters
  10. firm — decided
  11. key — for a lock
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. key — in music
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cell — a phone
  18. date — the fruit
  19. swing — to play on
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cell — in biology
  23. firm — a company
  24. swing — music

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