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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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. race — humankind
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pop — to visit
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. race — a contest
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pop — soda
  11. cue — for pool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pop — music
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — a position

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