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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — final
  13. clip — to cut
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. roll — a list
  24. date — on the calendar

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