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

Word bank: bat · wave · wind · land · season · kick · content · perch

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bat — the animal
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — in football
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — to come down
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. content — happy
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. season — of the year
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — the amount

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