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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: key · swing · calf · wake · cold · shower · plane · clip

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. swing — to play on
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. swing — music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — a video
  19. shower — to wash
  20. key — in music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — to cut
  24. calf — a young animal

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