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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. field — farmland
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. spring — of water
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — a subject
  13. spell — letters
  14. bear — the animal
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. spring — the season
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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