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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: roll · cold · wave · capital · stick · wind

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — money
  7. roll — a cake
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. capital — a city
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — a list
  18. wind — moving air

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