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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. dip — to sink
  4. season — of the year
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. present — a gift
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. present — the time now
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cell — in biology
  17. present — there
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cell — a phone
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. season — in sport
  24. wave — with your hand

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