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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. clip — a video
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a tool
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — for paper
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. perch — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — a city
  19. plane — a tool
  20. capital — money
  21. file — a line of people
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. plane — in geometry

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