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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: rash · cold · pound · bay · bat · ball · fork · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rash — a series
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bat — the animal

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