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

Word bank: swing · stick · prune · clip · vault · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. swing — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a city
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. capital — money
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. clip — a video

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