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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. net — after costs
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. land — ground
  7. chair — a leader
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. net — in sport
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — for catching
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. land — to come down

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