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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a document
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — a city
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. spring — the season
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. file — a tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rule — government

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