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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mate — a friend
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wax — to grow
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cold — an illness

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