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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. drill — a practice
  4. band — a ring
  5. race — a contest
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — army training
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. spell — letters
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spell — magic
  17. clip — a video
  18. band — a music group
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — help
  22. spell — a short time
  23. drill — the tool
  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