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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: chest · wave · last · wound · roll · wake · pitcher · stick

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — final
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. roll — a list
  9. last — to go on
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chest — a box
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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