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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. mate — to breed
  4. spring — of water
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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