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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — finally
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — a trail
  8. race — humankind
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — a contest
  13. last — final
  14. clip — a video
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — to go on
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. clip — to cut

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