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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bass — the fish
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. fine — all right
  6. hand — help
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bass — low music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. shower — rain
  12. row — to paddle
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. row — a line
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. hand — part of the body

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