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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: swing · clip · kick · bank · straw · wave · toast · date

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. toast — bread
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bank — for money
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bank — of a river
  14. clip — to cut
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. swing — to play on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. bank — for money
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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