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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pop — music
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — soda
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. clip — a video
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — to come down
  22. foot — a measure
  23. current — of water
  24. land — a country

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