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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: bat · fine · rush · spell · cold · wave · rest · pit

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spell — magic
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rest — a break
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — the Cold War

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