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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: wave · cold · net · hand · band · lie · bore · ball

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to tire
  15. ball — a dance
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. hand — help
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bore — to drill

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