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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. craft — boats
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. chest — a box
  11. capital — money
  12. swing — music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — in golf

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