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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tube — the underground
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. shower — rain
  18. tube — a container
  19. date — the fruit
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. roll — on a roll

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