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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: squash · pound · clip · swing · stem · key · mine · bore

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. stem — to come from
  9. clip — to cut
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — in music
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bore — to tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. swing — in golf
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. mine — for digging

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