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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 124 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. content — happy
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rule — a law
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pop — soda
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. date — the fruit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. rule — government
  17. content — the amount
  18. pop — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pop — to visit
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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