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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: ruler · last · sharp · pitch · racket · cold · wave · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pitch — completely
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. shower — rain
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — clever
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. last — finally
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cold — an illness
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wave — with your hand

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