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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — part of the head
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a match
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — shares
  12. rest — a break
  13. stock — goods
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — to confront
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bound — certain
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chair — a professorship

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