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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 116 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — help
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — happy
  11. suit — in cards
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — child
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. suit — clothes
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. suit — to fit
  20. kid — to tease
  21. content — the amount
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — music
  24. fall — to drop

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