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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. craft — boats
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. spring — the season
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. craft — a skill
  18. perch — the fish
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cap — of ice

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