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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — of ice
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. court — for sport
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fall — the season
  13. kick — in football
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cap — a lid
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. club — a group
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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