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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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Word bank
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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: land · pop · wave · cold · board · file · rest · swing

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rest — what's left
  3. board — to get on
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pop — soda
  6. board — a committee
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — a break
  16. land — ground
  17. pop — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a document
  24. board — a flat piece

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