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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: wave · club · leaves · season · bat · cold · chair · tear

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — not warm
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. season — in sport
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. club — for golf
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. season — of the year
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chair — a professorship

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