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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. row — to paddle
  13. charge — a price
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rash — a series
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. charge — electricity
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. charge — in control
  24. wave — of the sea

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