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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: wave · plane · kick · bowl · cold · chest · rash · hand

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — a tool
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — help
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chest — of your body

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