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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: wind · race · hand · wave · chest · pitcher · pop · cabinet

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. chest — a box
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pop — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — help
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pop — soda
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. race — a contest

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