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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: ball · board · prune · hide · bowl · cold · wave · tear

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. board — to get on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ball — a great time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a committee
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bowl — a dish

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