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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stand — to bear
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. clip — for paper
  8. band — a music group
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a ring
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. roll — a list
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. field — for sport
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. roll — on a roll

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