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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: game · capital · swing · vault · clip · current · snap · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. swing — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. swing — in golf
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. swing — to play on
  10. current — electric
  11. bank — for money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a city
  20. clip — to cut
  21. current — happening now
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — wild animals
  24. current — of water

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