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

Word bank: bay · object · wave · fork · wind · land · arm · content

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. object — to protest
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. object — an aim
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. land — ground
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. land — to come down
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. fork — in a road

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