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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 116 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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Word bank
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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — a series
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — for sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. snap — to click
  24. wound — an injury

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