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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: wave · kick · ball · band · chest · cell · saw · prune

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. ball — a dance
  7. band — a ring
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kick — in football
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cell — a phone
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a music group
  24. wave — with your hand

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