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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: date · foot · ground · bowl · clip · wave · content · racket

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. content — happy
  4. ground — crushed
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. content — the amount
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — a position
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. foot — the bottom

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