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

Word bank: band · bat · wave · sharp · arm · wind

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wind — moving air
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. arm — part of the body

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