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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · wave · coach · club · cold · perch · game · mine

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — the amount
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — an illness
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. club — a group
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. perch — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. content — happy
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — for golf
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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