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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: drill · temple · board · rush · wave · swing · wind · clip

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. board — to get on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wind — moving air
  17. board — a committee
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. temple — side of the head

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