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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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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 · wound · clip · foot · craft · capital · bank · bear

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. craft — boats
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. craft — a skill
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bank — of a river
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — an injury
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bear — the animal
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. capital — a city
  22. foot — a measure
  23. capital — money
  24. clip — to cut

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