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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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468
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 · mine · swing · wave · mate · scale · bear · bound

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. scale — in music
  4. swing — music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bound — certain
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mine — for digging

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