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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: craft · stand · wave · clip · mug · fall · perch · tear

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. craft — a skill
  5. stand — to bear
  6. clip — a video
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — the season
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — boats
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mug — a cup
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mug — to rob
  23. tear — to rip
  24. craft — a handicraft

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