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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. content — happy
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rock — music
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rash — hasty
  15. court — for sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rock — a stone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. row — a line
  21. rash — a series
  22. court — of a king
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. court — of law

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