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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. net — after costs
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — steady
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. spring — the season
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. date — the fruit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chest — a box
  22. firm — decided
  23. pop — music
  24. firm — a company

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