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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — for digging
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. content — happy
  12. current — happening now
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. current — electric
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — the amount
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — of water

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