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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: ruler · clip · season · swing · stock · last · can · club

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. swing — music
  3. last — final
  4. season — in sport
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — a tin
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stock — goods
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stock — shares
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — a video
  14. club — for dancing
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. season — of the year
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — to go on
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. club — a group
  24. last — finally

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