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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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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — a country
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stem — to come from
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — to come down
  16. fine — all right
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. land — ground
  19. last — finally
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fine — high quality
  24. band — a music group

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