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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: clip · club · tube · swing · mate · lash · spring · ruler

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — for golf
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — the season
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tube — a container
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. swing — in golf
  20. club — a group
  21. spring — of water
  22. mate — to breed
  23. club — for dancing
  24. swing — music

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