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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: clip · spell · mate · bulb · bark · last · face · wave

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — letters
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — final
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spell — magic

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