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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: face · date · plane · clip · wound · swing · spell · drill

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — army training
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. face — to confront
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. spell — magic
  12. swing — to play on
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. plane — a tool
  17. swing — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. clip — for paper
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spell — letters
  24. drill — a practice

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