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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: fork · swing · bat · lie · spring · clip · wax · toast

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  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. spring — of water
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. toast — bread
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. toast — the most admired
  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