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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: row · chest · wind · wave · cabinet · roll · wake · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. club — for golf
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a line
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wake — a trail
  19. roll — a cake
  20. club — a group
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. roll — a list
  23. chest — a box
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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