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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — to tease
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. present — a gift
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. snap — to click
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — child
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rock — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. present — there

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