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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — letters
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — magic
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — humankind
  13. spell — a short time
  14. craft — boats
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. craft — a skill
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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