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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — final
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — finally
  14. net — after costs
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — help
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — a country
  20. last — to go on
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wave — of the sea

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