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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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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: racket · mate · wound · wind · hand · shower · wake · lean

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. hand — help
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lean — thin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — rain
  22. hand — in cards
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wake — before a funeral

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