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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 120 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: land · wind · firm · rule · wave · cell · swing · arm

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — moving air
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. firm — decided
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. firm — a company
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. swing — to play on
  20. land — to come down
  21. firm — steady
  22. cell — a phone
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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