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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: date · lean · shower · swing · clip · branch · pit · foot

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. lean — thin
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. branch — a division
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pit — a hole
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — in golf
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. swing — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. date — the fruit
  20. lean — to bend
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pit — in a race
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. clip — for paper

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