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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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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: vault · clip · last · squash · swing · mate · mine · fine

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fine — high quality
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — for paper
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. mine — for digging
  11. swing — music
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fine — all right
  21. mate — a partner
  22. last — final
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. squash — the sport

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