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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — ground
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — to come down
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bear — the animal
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bass — the fish
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — a country
  22. spring — the season
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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