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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 120 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — soda
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pop — music
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. race — humankind
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. race — a contest
  14. season — of the year
  15. swing — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. swing — in golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. race — the arms race
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — to visit
  23. deal — to handle
  24. cold — the Cold War

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