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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. march — music
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. kick — in football
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bank — for money
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — for money
  24. march — the month

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