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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pound — a weight
  8. row — a line
  9. rest — a break
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — to cut

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