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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bank — for money
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. clip — a video
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bank — for money
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bank — of a river
  18. march — the month
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. wave — of the sea

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