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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. face — to point toward
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chest — a box
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bat — the animal
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a ring
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. roll — a list

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