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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: fine · game · saw · clip · pit · last · tear · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. fine — high quality
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — in a race
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — to go on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. last — final
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — finally
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pit — a hole

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