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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to click
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wake — a trail
  20. clip — a video
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — before a funeral

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