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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 · spell · wound · clip · racket · roll · mine · board

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. spell — letters
  6. swing — music
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. clip — for paper
  9. board — a committee
  10. swing — to play on
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. board — to get on
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spell — magic
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. swing — in golf
  19. roll — a list
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spell — a short time

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