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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a ring
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — a coil
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. last — to go on
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — final
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — a video
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. spring — of water
  24. clip — to cut

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