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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. object — to protest
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — a hat
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spring — the season
  15. cap — of ice
  16. clip — to cut
  17. face — to point toward
  18. clip — a video
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. face — to confront
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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