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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: race · safe · spring · coach · wind · wave · clip · face

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — a coil
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. face — to confront
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. race — the arms race
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. face — part of the head
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spring — of water
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — moving air
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to point toward
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. race — a contest

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