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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 120 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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — clever
  10. content — the amount
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. swing — music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — a line
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — a series
  24. lie — to recline

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