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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bank — of a river
  3. present — there
  4. last — to go on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — for money
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. firm — a company
  9. last — final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. present — a gift
  15. bank — for money
  16. kid — child
  17. firm — decided
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. last — finally
  23. present — the time now
  24. firm — steady

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