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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. field — a subject
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — in music
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a match
  15. rash — a series
  16. rest — what's left
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — hasty
  20. ball — a great time
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. ball — a dance

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