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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: present · wave · clip · squash · pit · last · row · object

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. squash — the sport
  3. object — an aim
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. present — there
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. last — to go on
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. object — to protest
  13. row — to paddle
  14. present — the time now
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. last — final
  20. object — a thing
  21. row — a line
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pit — in a race

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