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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. clip — for paper
  5. track — a song
  6. swing — to play on
  7. sharp — clever
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — a path
  19. scale — in music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. swing — in golf
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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