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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · chair · stock · date · snap · swing · fan · clip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. swing — to play on
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. key — in music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. key — for a lock
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. snap — to click
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stock — shares
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — a video
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. swing — in golf

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