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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: fall · snap · bark · spell · wind · wave · clip · scale

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. scale — in music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. fall — to drop
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — a short time
  12. snap — to click
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. clip — a video
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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