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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. prune — to trim
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — ground
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. hand — help
  13. land — to come down
  14. bound — obliged
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. rush — hurry
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wound — an injury

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