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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — a video
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. hand — in cards
  9. ball — a great time
  10. snap — to click
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hand — help

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