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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: bay · swing · vault · root · mine · clip · content · fine

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. root — the cause
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fine — all right
  7. root — of a word
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. content — the amount
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. content — happy
  19. fine — high quality
  20. swing — music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. content — videos and posts

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