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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: row · swing · date · clip · key · dip · band · court

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. swing — in golf
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — to paddle
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. swing — music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. row — a line
  14. dip — to sink
  15. date — the fruit
  16. court — of law
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. band — a music group
  20. key — in music
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a ring
  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