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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — a subject
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — for sport
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. field — farmland
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. kid — child
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. march — music

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