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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: scale · wind · cold · rash · game · cap · bear · wave

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. scale — in music
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rash — a series
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. game — a match
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bear — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — the Cold War

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