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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — a song
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — child
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. present — there
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fall — to drop
  20. file — a document
  21. track — to keep track
  22. capital — a city
  23. track — a path
  24. present — a gift

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