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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. spring — of water
  5. cold — not warm
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. net — in sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bound — tied together
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bound — certain
  17. pop — music
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spring — the season
  22. game — wild animals
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — exactly

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