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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 120 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: band · content · root · clip · kid · board · swing · tear

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. tear — to rip
  3. root — the cause
  4. swing — to play on
  5. clip — for paper
  6. root — of a plant
  7. board — to get on
  8. root — of a word
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — the amount
  11. swing — music
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — happy
  22. board — a committee
  23. kid — child
  24. tear — from crying

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