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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 · spring · face · stand · dip · swing · wound · vault

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spring — a coil
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stand — to bear
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. vault — a safe
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spring — of water
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. face — to confront
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — part of the head
  24. swing — to play on

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