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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: wave · mine · wound · chest · present · cabinet · date · firm

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. firm — steady
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chest — a box
  7. firm — decided
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. present — the time now
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. present — there
  15. firm — a company
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — a gift
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. date — the fruit
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — an injury

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