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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 not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. club — for golf
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. club — a group
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. content — the amount
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. club — for dancing
  23. kid — child
  24. wave — with your hand

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