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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: mate · ball · wave · toast · lie · clip · kid · stand

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. toast — bread
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lie — to recline
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. ball — a great time
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kid — child
  24. stand — for spectators

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