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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: tube · wave · jam · chair · cell · ball · bay · cold

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tube — a container
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — an illness
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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