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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. wave — a sudden rise
  2. capital — a city
  3. present — the time now
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. club — for golf
  6. cue — a hint
  7. club — for dancing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. present — a gift
  11. cue — for pool
  12. capital — money
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cue — a signal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — a country
  19. club — a group
  20. land — to come down
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. present — there
  23. land — ground
  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