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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: wave · kid · arm · staff · tube · wind · snap · land

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — a stick
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — a country
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. tube — a container
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kid — child

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