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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 116 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: clip · straw · wind · wake · board · bulb · track · spring

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a song
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. board — to get on
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spring — the season
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. track — a path
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. board — a committee
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — of water

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