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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: swing · snap · wound · season · suit · fork · shower · clip

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — a video
  9. shower — rain
  10. suit — to fit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. swing — music
  14. fork — in a road
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wound — an injury
  19. suit — in cards
  20. season — in sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. shower — to wash
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — to cut

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