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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. swing — music
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. craft — boats
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. track — to keep track
  18. swing — in golf
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — to play on
  23. net — for catching
  24. craft — a handicraft

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