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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — letters
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. spell — a short time
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spell — magic
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fork — in a road
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. fork — to eat with

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