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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. net — after costs
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. net — in sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. kick — in football
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — for catching
  24. ball — a round shape

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