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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. drill — army training
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cold — not warm
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — a position
  24. cold — the Cold War

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