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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. deal — to handle
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. bat — for baseball

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