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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 116 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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. file — a line of people
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. clip — to cut
  5. object — a thing
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. dip — to sink
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. clip — a video
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. season — of the year
  24. object — to protest

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