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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — to cut
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — a video
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. shower — to wash
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — to go on
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. racket — for tennis

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