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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. land — to come down
  3. club — for golf
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wake — a trail
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. land — ground
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — child
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. club — a group
  23. date — the fruit
  24. club — for dancing

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