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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. track — a song
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — to cut
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. capital — a city
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — for paper

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