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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · row · wind · mate · tear · scale

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. tear — to rip
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — for weighing

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