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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stand — to bear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. snap — to click
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rush — hurry

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