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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. present — a gift
  4. pound — a weight
  5. content — happy
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a tool
  8. content — the amount
  9. present — the time now
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. present — there
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a document
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. racket — a loud noise

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