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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. kid — child
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chip — to eat
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fine — all right
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chip — for betting
  19. row — a line
  20. mine — for digging
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wake — a trail
  24. row — to paddle

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