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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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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 · hand · leaves · chair · row · band · vault · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — in cards
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. band — a music group
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chair — a leader
  16. vault — a safe
  17. row — to paddle
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. band — a ring
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. row — a line
  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