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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — final
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. court — of law
  8. last — to go on
  9. fall — the season
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. last — finally
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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