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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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. court — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. clip — to cut
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. court — of a king
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — electric
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. spring — the season
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. field — for sport
  21. current — of water
  22. court — of law
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — farmland

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