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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. land — ground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — a country
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. net — after costs
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — to come down
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — of water
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spring — the season
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spring — a coil
  21. net — in sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — the season
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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