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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pop — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mug — a cup
  14. last — to go on
  15. tear — to rip
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. spring — a coil

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