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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: march · clip · swing · wave · capital · staff

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. staff — a stick
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — of the sea

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