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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. mug — a face
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. game — a match
  7. hand — help
  8. last — to go on
  9. pop — to visit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. swing — music
  14. mug — a cup
  15. last — finally
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pop — soda
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mug — to rob
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. swing — in golf

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