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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. face — to point toward
  3. squash — the sport
  4. land — ground
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. face — part of the head
  11. squash — to crush
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country

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