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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. wind — moving air
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ground — a position
  12. bass — low music
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. spell — letters
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rock — music
  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