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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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. cold — an illness
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — the amount
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. charge — in control
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lean — to bend
  15. spring — a coil
  16. charge — a price
  17. spring — of water
  18. charge — electricity
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cold — not warm
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — the season
  23. lean — thin
  24. patient — a sick person

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