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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 · court · craft · clip · board · kick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — of law
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. court — of a king
  9. craft — boats
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. craft — a skill
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. clip — for paper
  18. board — a committee

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