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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cap — a hat
  20. tear — from crying
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — for paper
  24. foot — part of the body

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