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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 · stick · sharp · rock · club · cold · fall · last

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. last — final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. last — finally
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. club — for golf
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fall — to drop

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