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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — to cut
  3. date — the fruit
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bulb — for light
  13. clip — a video
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. date — on the calendar

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