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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — the fish
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rash — a series
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — for catching
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. rash — hasty
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — money
  22. sharp — clever
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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