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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. club — for dancing
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. game — wild animals
  10. club — for golf
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — to cut
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — the time now
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. present — there
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. club — a group

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