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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: wave · race · ball · clip · bore · last · spring · wound

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. race — humankind
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — a video
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a dance
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. last — final
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — finally
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bore — to tire
  19. race — a contest
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — to go on
  23. bore — to drill
  24. clip — for paper

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