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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: kid · straw · lean · plane · court · wind · wave · bound

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. court — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bound — certain
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — of a king
  24. wind — to turn a key

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