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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 116 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 · hand · bat · pound · sharp · rule · swing · can

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rule — a law
  4. can — a tin
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — government
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pound — a weight
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — help
  22. swing — in golf
  23. can — a tin
  24. pound — to hit hard

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