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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. foot — a measure
  16. game — a match
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — in cards
  21. last — finally
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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