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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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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 · snap · plane · clip · cold · game · temple · stock

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. plane — a tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — goods
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. game — a match
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. temple — side of the head

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