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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. clip — to cut
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pit — a hole
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — rain
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — wild animals

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