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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 120 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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. court — for sport
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. field — farmland
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — help
  15. field — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. hand — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — soda
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. kid — to tease
  24. hand — part of the body

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