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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spell — letters
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — a video
  10. spell — a short time
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. kid — child
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — a tool
  16. spell — magic
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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