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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. game — a match
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. drill — a practice
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. date — the fruit
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — boats
  21. rest — a break
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rest — what's left

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