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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: swing · branch · wave · club · pitcher · clip · rest · toast

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. swing — in golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — a division
  5. club — for golf
  6. rest — what's left
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — to play on
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. club — for dancing
  14. swing — music
  15. club — a group
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. toast — bread
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pitcher — a jug

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