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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: date · spring · ground · clip · mate · wave · stock · roll

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — of water
  12. roll — a list
  13. clip — to cut
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stock — goods
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ground — a position
  20. mate — to breed
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. clip — for paper
  24. date — the fruit

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