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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: wave · hand · rush · clip · rule · chest · last · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. last — final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — a law
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. can — a tin
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chest — a box
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. can — to be able to
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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