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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. last — final
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — a line
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pit — a hole
  15. chair — a leader
  16. last — to go on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — finally

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