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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: wind · wake · season · club · deal · jam · clip · pitch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — of the year
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. deal — to handle
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pitch — completely
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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