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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ball — a great time
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cell — in biology
  13. race — humankind
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — in football
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kick — with a leg

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