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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. clip — for paper
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. current — electric
  16. row — to paddle
  17. current — happening now
  18. row — a line
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — from crying
  21. current — of water
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — a video
  24. wave — with your hand

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