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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. season — in sport
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  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