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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. row — a line
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stand — to bear
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — money
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a city
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rest — a break
  24. leaves — lets stay

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