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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. key — for a lock
  3. tube — the underground
  4. land — to come down
  5. ball — a great time
  6. key — in music
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tube — a container
  10. date — the fruit
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. key — the most important part
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — a country
  16. clip — for paper
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — to cut

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