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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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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: bay · kid · craft · squash · clip · swing · shower · content

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. kid — to tease
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. squash — to crush
  16. content — the amount
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. craft — a skill
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. clip — a video

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