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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fine — all right
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. sharp — clever
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. content — happy
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. content — the amount
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — in biology

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