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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — soda
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — a video
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bound — tied together
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bear — to put up with

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