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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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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 · season · date · tear · pound · saw · chair · kid

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — to tease
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tear — from crying
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. season — of the year
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pound — a weight
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chair — a leader

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