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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · hand · rest · spring · tube · roll · capital · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — help
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. toast — bread
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — of water
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. roll — a cake
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tube — a container
  19. roll — a list
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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