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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: arm · bore · plane · wave · cold · swing · scale · race

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — a contest
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. swing — in golf
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — humankind
  10. scale — size or range
  11. plane — a tool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bore — to tire
  15. scale — in music
  16. bore — to drill
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. swing — music
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. arm — part of the body

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