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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
468
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: land · wave · clip · dip · lash · date · scale · field

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. dip — to sink
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. scale — size or range
  6. field — for sport
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — a video
  9. land — ground
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — in music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. land — to come down
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — farmland
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. scale — for weighing

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