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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. row — a line
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pound — a weight
  6. prune — to trim
  7. net — for catching
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. content — happy
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. content — the amount
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. net — in sport
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — with an edge

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