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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — help

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