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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hand — help
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — the tool
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. net — after costs
  24. bowl — to roll

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