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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bass — low music
  9. stock — goods
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — shares
  13. row — a line
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. field — for sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hand — help
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. sharp — clever
  24. saw — the tool

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