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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: ball · clip · key · wind · stem · racket · swing · last

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — a video
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. swing — to play on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. swing — in golf
  18. last — final
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stem — to come from

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