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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 116 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: spring · suit · calf · field · firm · wave · clip · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. firm — a company
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. firm — steady
  10. suit — in cards
  11. field — farmland
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. suit — to fit
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — to rip
  18. suit — clothes
  19. field — a subject
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. field — for sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — a video

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