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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 116 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — a city
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — final
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. present — the time now
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ground — a position
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — finally
  22. capital — money
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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