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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.

Make a worksheet

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 a fun ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — in sport
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ground — the earth
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. dip — to sink
  17. net — for catching
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. ground — crushed
  20. clip — to cut
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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