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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — clever
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — in football
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. club — for golf
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. clip — a video
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. club — a group
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ruler — a monarch

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