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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: game · wave · lash · drill · pound · bank · scale · cold

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — not warm
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bank — for money
  21. scale — size or range
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bank — of a river
  24. drill — army training

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