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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kid — child
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bank — for money
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — a lid
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — help
  18. race — humankind
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cap — a hat

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