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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. spell — magic
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — farmland
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. stock — goods
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — letters
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. squash — to crush
  21. row — a line
  22. field — for sport
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. stock — shares

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