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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: swing · hand · foot · craft · track · clip · cap · fan

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. track — a song
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — for paper
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cap — a hat
  9. swing — in golf
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. craft — boats
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cap — of ice
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hand — help
  17. clip — a video
  18. track — a path
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. swing — music
  23. craft — a skill
  24. track — to keep track

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