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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. roll — a list
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — the fish
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cell — a phone
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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