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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — a match
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. ground — a position
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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