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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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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: band · cold · wake · wave · suit · deal · mate · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chest — a box
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a ring
  13. wake — a trail
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. band — a music group
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. suit — in cards
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — the Cold War

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