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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. lean — to bend
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. band — a ring
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. prune — to trim
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. content — happy
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — the amount
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. lean — thin
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — in football

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