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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. clip — a video
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — to confront
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cell — a phone
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — in a prison

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