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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: clip · stand · mine · land · lash · swing · bore · fork

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. land — ground
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. land — to come down
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fork — in a road
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stand — to bear
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. swing — music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bore — to tire
  17. land — a country
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — a video
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mine — for digging

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