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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. content — the amount
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — happy
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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