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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: mouse · wave · clip · swing · cell · scale · row · rush

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. row — a line
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. row — to paddle

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