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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — ground
  5. board — to get on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mark — a grade
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. land — to come down
  17. board — a committee
  18. land — a country
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. clip — a video
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. mark — a trace
  24. leaves — of a tree

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