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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 120 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: wave · ball · chair · hand · sharp · dip · cell · tear

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cell — in biology
  15. hand — help
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. hand — part of the body

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