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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: firm · clip · deal · craft · date · mine · content · swing

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. swing — to play on
  6. date — the fruit
  7. content — the amount
  8. craft — boats
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. firm — decided
  17. content — happy
  18. firm — steady
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — a video
  21. firm — a company
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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