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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 120 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: hand · stem · club · craft · game · swing · face · clip

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hand — help
  10. swing — in golf
  11. club — a group
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. club — for golf
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — to come from
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. game — wild animals
  20. face — part of the head
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. hand — in cards

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