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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: squash · kid · march · wave · cold · spell · roll · rock

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — music
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. spell — magic
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rock — music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. spell — letters
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. roll — a list
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rock — a stone
  19. kid — child
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kid — to tease

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