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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. swing — in golf
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — to cut
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — part of the head
  9. swing — music
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. face — to confront
  12. swing — to play on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — a video
  18. saw — the tool
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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