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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. suit — to fit
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pitch — completely
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — ground
  19. rest — a break
  20. suit — in cards
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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