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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: clip · fine · wave · wind · fall · kid · game · racket

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — a video
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — to cut
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fine — all right
  12. fall — the season
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kid — child
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wind — moving air
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fall — to drop

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