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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. spring — the season
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pop — to visit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pop — soda
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — happy
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bass — the fish
  19. spring — of water
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pop — music
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. racket — for tennis

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