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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: wind · wave · stick · deal · cold · chest · present · temple

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. present — a gift
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. present — the time now
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. chest — a box
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — there
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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