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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 · ground · bay · clip · court · rash · wound · present

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. court — of law
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. ground — crushed
  17. court — for sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. court — of a king
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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