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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. present — there
  3. mark — a grade
  4. band — a ring
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. present — the time now
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — a gift
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. band — a music group
  19. mark — a trace
  20. rash — a series
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bat — the animal

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