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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — wild animals
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — a line
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. court — of law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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