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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: straw · fine · tear · cap · wind · wave

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man

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