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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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. capital — money
  6. land — to come down
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. stand — to bear
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lean — thin
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bass — low music
  24. stand — on your feet

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