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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. season — in sport
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. fall — to drop
  16. season — of the year
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fall — the season
  23. bat — the animal
  24. shower — rain

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