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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. pop — soda
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — to confront
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — after costs
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. face — part of the head
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — a match
  23. net — in sport
  24. march — music

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