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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rock — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spell — a short time
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lie — to recline
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — a video
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — a stone

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