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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 · rock · capital · mouse · mate · wound · straw · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rock — a stone
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rock — music
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mate — a friend

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