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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — to visit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — soda
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — a country
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bass — low music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cell — in a prison

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