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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: cold · wave · fork · wind · ball · chest · rush · rule

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. chest — a box
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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