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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.

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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. court — of law
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. charge — electricity
  8. court — of a king
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — for catching
  14. cap — of ice
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — after costs
  17. charge — a price
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — for sport
  24. cap — a lid

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