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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. spell — magic
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — all right
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — letters

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