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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 120 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: clip · wave · wound · fork · pitcher · kid · plane · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. kid — child
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fork — in a road
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wave — with your hand

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