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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: wave · row · leaves · swing · land · bear · pop · wind

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. row — a line
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — to play on
  7. land — a country
  8. pop — to visit
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pop — soda
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. swing — music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — to come down
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pop — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bear — the animal

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