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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. game — a match
  5. last — to go on
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — final
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rock — music
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — finally
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — wild animals

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