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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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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: wind · clip · wound · mate · mine · squash · wave · tube

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — a video
  7. mate — a friend
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — a container
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wave — with your hand

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