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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 120 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: tear · wave · kid · bowl · fan · wake · chest · rock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rock — music
  10. chest — a box
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tear — to rip

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