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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 116 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — a phone
  14. drill — army training
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — a video
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kick — in football
  23. rock — a stone
  24. kid — child

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