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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. scale — in music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — a box
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — after costs
  11. field — for sport
  12. scale — size or range
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — for catching
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — a subject
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — to turn a key

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