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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 120 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. swing — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — to come down
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — shares
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stock — goods
  24. swing — in golf

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