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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. track — a path
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. track — a song
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitcher — a jug

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