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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wave — with your hand

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