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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: game · clip · pitcher · face · swing · prune · spell · bank

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — a video
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bank — of a river
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bank — for money
  12. face — to confront
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — to cut
  16. swing — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bank — for money
  24. spell — letters

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