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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: pitcher · bear · spring · swing · key · lean · board · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — the season
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. key — in music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. clip — to cut
  12. key — the most important part
  13. board — to get on
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. board — a committee
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. key — for a lock
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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