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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ground — crushed
  4. row — a line
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — after costs
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — in sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. net — for catching
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ground — a position
  21. game — a match
  22. stock — shares
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ground — the earth

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