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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. ball — a dance
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. land — ground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. land — to come down
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. sharp — clever
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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