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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. game — a match
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — happy
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. content — the amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. game — wild animals
  22. net — after costs
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hide — to keep secret

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