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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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468
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: mine · swing · band · mark · clip · rock · squash · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — a video
  4. rock — a stone
  5. swing — music
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a ring
  13. mark — a grade
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a music group
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mine — for digging
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

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