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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: row · chair · stock · branch · vault · clip · game · swing

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stock — shares
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — for paper
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. row — a line
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. branch — a division
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stock — goods
  24. branch — of a bank

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