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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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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: date · deal · swing · track · cue · clip · vault · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cue — a signal
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cue — for pool
  9. clip — a video
  10. cue — a hint
  11. swing — to play on
  12. track — a song
  13. deal — to handle
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — a path
  16. vault — a safe
  17. clip — for paper
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. date — the fruit
  21. track — to keep track
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. deal — an agreement

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