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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: stand · date · clip · squash · tear · kid · toast · swing

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. kid — child
  2. swing — to play on
  3. squash — to crush
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. toast — bread
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — to tease
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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