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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. swing — music
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spell — magic
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. swing — in golf
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. spell — letters

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