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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — help
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chest — a box
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. hand — part of the body

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