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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 116 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: club · court · hand · wave · cold · mouse · wind · charge

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. club — for dancing
  6. hand — help
  7. court — for sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. court — of law
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for golf
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — a group
  24. charge — electricity

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