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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. field — a subject
  3. net — for catching
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. field — farmland
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cell — a phone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — after costs
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — a city
  12. net — in sport
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mark — to pay attention

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