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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: wind · tear · chair · wake · snap · pitch · wave · sharp

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chair — a leader

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