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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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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: sharp · wave · staff · file · cold · wind · club · pop

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. club — for golf
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pop — music
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — a group
  16. pop — to visit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. staff — employees
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cold — not warm

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