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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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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. file — a document
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — magic
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — moving air

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