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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. clip — for paper
  11. game — a match
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. clip — a video
  24. bank — for money

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