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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. track — a song
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. track — a path
  8. court — for sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. swing — music
  11. lie — to recline
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. court — of law
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. present — a gift
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — to keep track
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — a video

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