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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. net — for catching
  2. rest — a break
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — happy
  6. last — to go on
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — a phone
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. last — final
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wave — of the sea
  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