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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. content — the amount
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. court — of law
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bat — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. ground — a position
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of a king
  24. ground — crushed

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