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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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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: swing · wind · lean · last · bank · mark · clip · fine

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. last — final
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — finally
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fine — all right
  12. lean — thin
  13. swing — music
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — to go on
  17. bank — of a river
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mark — a trace

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