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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 124 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — a video
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pit — in a race
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. clip — to cut
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pound — for dogs

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