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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. shower — rain
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — final
  20. band — a ring
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wave — with your hand

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