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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 116 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 · stem · court · bank · swing · fall

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — the season
  3. bank — for money
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — music
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — for money
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stem — to come from
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fall — to drop

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