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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. drill — a practice
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — for catching
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — after costs
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. march — the month
  20. drill — army training
  21. cold — not warm
  22. net — in sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. fan — a supporter

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