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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 · ball · bear · tear · clip · spring

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. spring — of water
  3. clip — a video
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying

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