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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — an illness
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bark — to shout
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bat — the animal

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