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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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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: kick · spell · toast · club · bank · clip · swing · prune

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — for paper
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spell — magic
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bank — of a river
  14. kick — in football
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. swing — in golf
  17. club — for golf
  18. spell — letters
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bank — for money
  23. swing — music
  24. toast — bread

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