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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · clip · kick · bank · straw · wave

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bank — for money
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kick — in football
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bank — for money
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bank — of a river

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