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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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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: wind · coach · swing · fine · club · mug · craft · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. swing — to play on
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — to rob
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. club — for golf
  16. swing — in golf
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — all right
  21. mug — a cup
  22. club — a group
  23. swing — music
  24. mug — a face

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