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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. drill — army training
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — a match
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — wild animals
  14. scale — in music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. content — happy
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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