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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · stand · mark · current · march · clip · craft · cold

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stand — to bear
  3. craft — a skill
  4. clip — a video
  5. current — of water
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mark — a trace
  12. swing — to play on
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. swing — music
  24. clip — for paper

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