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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — help
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. swing — music
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bank — of a river
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wake — a trail
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bank — for money
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. clip — a video
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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