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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — letters
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spell — magic
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — a short time
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cap — a hat
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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