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

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mark — a trace
  7. swing — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. clip — a video
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. chair — a leader
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wind — to turn a key

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