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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · wave · ball · suit · cold · kid · wound · hand

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. mine — for digging
  3. suit — in cards
  4. ball — a dance
  5. suit — to fit
  6. kid — child
  7. hand — help
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. suit — clothes
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — part of the 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