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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. content — the amount
  5. perch — the fish
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — happy
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cap — of ice
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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