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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. season — in sport
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. season — of the year
  11. net — in sport
  12. snap — to click
  13. cue — a signal
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. net — after costs
  16. face — to confront
  17. land — a country
  18. cold — an illness
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cue — for pool
  22. land — ground
  23. net — for catching
  24. face — part of the head

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