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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: key · hand · wave · fan · cabinet · kid · last · pound

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. key — for a lock
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — child
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pound — a weight

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