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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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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: pound · wave · racket · wake · cold · bat · bound · swing

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. swing — music

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