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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · last · fine · tube · hand · wave · lean · wind

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. fine — all right
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. last — final
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — help
  20. tube — the underground
  21. lean — thin
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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