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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. fall — the season
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wound — an injury
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. swing — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — for sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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