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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · clip · pit · bat · staff · tear

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. clip — to cut
  5. staff — employees
  6. pit — a hole
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tear — to rip
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wave — 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