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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: spring · wind · clip · net · fall · roll · pass · wave

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — for catching
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — after costs
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — the season
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. roll — a cake
  22. clip — a video
  23. roll — a list
  24. wave — with your hand

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