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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. fall — the season
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. field — farmland
  6. clip — a video
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — to cut
  13. field — for sport
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — for paper
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — to put up with

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