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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. club — a group
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — a match
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. press — newspapers
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. date — the fruit
  16. press — to push
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. clip — a video

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