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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: club · wave · season · rush · firm · mine · kid · wind

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. season — in sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — steady
  15. season — of the year
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. kid — child
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. club — a group

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