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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: key · rule · clip · swing · craft · spell · court · kid

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. swing — music
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. key — the most important part
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — child
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — a short time
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spell — magic
  24. court — for sport

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