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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pop — soda
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of law
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — a subject
  21. clip — to cut
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. court — for sport

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