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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 120 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. ground — crushed
  3. last — final
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. race — the arms race
  6. last — to go on
  7. race — humankind
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. last — finally
  10. ground — a position
  11. dip — to sink
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — the earth
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. clip — a video
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — the tool

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