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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: chair · wind · drill · wake · wave · coach · tear · game

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — a trail
  4. drill — a practice
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. drill — army training
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wave — of the sea

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