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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. spell — letters
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spell — magic
  17. field — a subject
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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