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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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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: fan · pass · wave · chair · prune · kid · cold · swing

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. swing — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chair — a leader
  16. swing — to play on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. cold — not warm

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