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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 120 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: scale · arm · ground · clip · track · wave · deal · tear

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — size or range
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — a video
  8. ground — a position
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. ground — the earth
  14. scale — in music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — to handle
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — a song
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. track — a path

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