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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — a match
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper

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