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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — in golf
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — of water
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bear — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. hand — help
  14. bass — the fish
  15. swing — music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bass — low music
  24. bear — the animal

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