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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: wake · arm · ground · shower · track · bound · land · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. ground — crushed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — rain
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ground — the earth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. track — a song
  21. bound — obliged
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bound — certain

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