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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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — rain
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. squash — to crush
  11. content — the amount
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for golf
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. swing — music
  16. club — a group
  17. shower — to wash
  18. content — happy
  19. wax — to grow
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. squash — the vegetable

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