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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. present — there
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitch — completely
  5. clip — for paper
  6. last — final
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — to go on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. present — a gift
  20. capital — money
  21. last — finally
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — a series
  24. present — the time now

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