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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chest — a box
  5. suit — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. suit — clothes
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. suit — to fit
  19. face — to confront
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hand — in cards

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