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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · rash · last · spell · wind · wave · chair · clip

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spell — letters
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rash — a series
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — to go on
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. last — final
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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