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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. row — a line
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — to paddle
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a match
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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