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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: board · firm · wave · bat · prune · suit · squash · cold

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. squash — the sport
  4. firm — steady
  5. suit — in cards
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. board — a committee
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. firm — decided
  19. squash — to crush
  20. board — to get on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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