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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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 — of the sea
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fine — all right
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — to recline
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. row — a line
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. clip — to cut
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fine — high quality
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. clip — a video
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fine — a penalty
  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