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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. face — to point toward
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. clip — to cut
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. net — in sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — a series
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — for catching
  21. content — the amount
  22. net — after costs
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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