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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: wake · hand · wave · march · club · cold · cell · ruler

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. hand — help
  24. march — the month

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