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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: stem · bay · shower · tear · file · bound · clip · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — rain
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stem — to come from
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. file — a tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. clip — a video
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bound — certain
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bound — obliged
  23. clip — to cut
  24. file — a line of people

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