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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: cold · wake · mug · wave · wind · tube · band · chip

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. chip — for betting
  11. band — a music group
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. band — a ring
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — in a computer

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