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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. net — for catching
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — after costs
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. band — a music group
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fork — in a road
  18. band — a ring
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chip — in a computer

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