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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: march · mate · dip · hand · cap · last · kick · wave

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mate — to breed
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. last — final
  13. dip — to sink
  14. last — to go on
  15. cap — a hat
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. march — music
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. mate — a friend
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mate — a partner

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