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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. land — ground
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spell — letters
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — army training
  14. mate — a friend
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spell — magic
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. land — a country
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. lash — to lash out

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