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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 116 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: clip · stem · court · bank · swing · fall · snap · hand

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. fall — the season
  3. court — of law
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — in golf
  6. snap — to click
  7. bank — for money
  8. stem — to come from
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — in cards

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