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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: game · wind · mouse · wave · saw · march · sharp · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. march — the month
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — clever
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — a match
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. march — music
  24. mouse — the animal

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