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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. craft — boats
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cap — a hat
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cap — of ice
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. clip — for paper
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. patient — a sick person

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