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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chest — a box
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. toast — bread
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — a video
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — electric
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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