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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — the amount
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — a video
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pop — music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. content — happy
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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