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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. mate — a partner
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. clip — to cut
  7. net — after costs
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. snap — to click
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mark — a grade
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chair — a leader
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — with your hand

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