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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a committee
  11. cold — an illness
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. board — to get on
  19. tube — a container
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. march — music
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. tube — the underground

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