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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a leader
  11. perch — the fish
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. plane — a tool
  19. game — a match
  20. rock — music
  21. content — happy
  22. rock — a stone
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — videos and posts

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