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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: clip · bass · capital · hand · swing · date · stick · wave

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bass — low music
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. date — the fruit
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — a video
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bass — the fish
  24. date — on the calendar

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