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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: kid · wave · cold · present · rock · race

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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 — with your hand
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — a contest
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. kid — child
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rock — music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. present — a gift
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. present — the time now
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. present — there
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. race — humankind
  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