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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — to rip
  10. clip — a video
  11. vault — a safe
  12. track — a path
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. track — a song
  18. tear — from crying

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