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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 120 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: stand · ball · squash · wave · hand · chip · cold · club

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. stand — to bear
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a dance
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. club — a group
  19. hand — help
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stand — on your feet

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