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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: jam · bowl · wave · cold · chair · race

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. race — humankind
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cold — an illness

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