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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: rock · bay · cold · swing · mine · shower · wave · chest

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. shower — rain
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — music
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. swing — music
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. shower — to wash
  24. swing — to play on

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