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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: clip · cap · track · wave · season · wind · bark · swing

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wind — moving air
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. season — of the year
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. track — a song
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cap — a hat
  18. swing — music
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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