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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: fan · cold · tear · fork · wind · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tear — from crying

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