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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: wave · branch · swing · ruler · cold · clip · bay · pass

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — for paper
  13. branch — a division
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. clip — a video
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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