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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — a video
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fine — high quality
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. fine — all right
  11. land — to come down
  12. swing — in golf
  13. object — to protest
  14. mate — to breed
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. swing — music
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. object — a thing
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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