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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.

Make a worksheet

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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. hand — help
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — a video
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut

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