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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — for paper
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. date — the fruit
  6. swing — to play on
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cold — an illness
  13. swing — music
  14. toast — bread
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wind — moving air
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rock — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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