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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 120 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: march · bowl · chest · wound · tear · rash · cell · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. chest — a box
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rash — a series
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bowl — to roll

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