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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — in a race
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cell — in biology
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cap — a lid
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — help
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pit — a hole
  24. hand — in cards

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