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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: face · fan · wave · charge · roll · spring · straw · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. charge — in control
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. spring — of water
  7. roll — a list
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spring — the season
  14. charge — a price
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — for paper
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. clip — a video
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. face — to confront
  24. charge — electricity

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