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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. land — a country
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. ground — the earth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. land — ground
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — to come down
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ground — crushed
  22. swing — music
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — to play on

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