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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: squash · nail · cold · sharp · wave · lie · kid · hand

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. kid — child
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lie — to recline
  19. sharp — clever
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. squash — the vegetable

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