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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. swing — in golf
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. dip — to sink
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. clip — a video
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. dip — to dunk

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