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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — a container
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. clip — a video
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wake — a trail
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. clip — for paper
  22. band — a music group
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bat — for baseball

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