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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — help
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. fine — high quality
  11. last — to go on
  12. scale — size or range
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. root — the cause
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. scale — in music
  22. last — final
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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