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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 120 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — of water
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. net — in sport
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. net — for catching
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rash — a series
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a ring
  21. chip — for betting
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. band — a music group
  24. wave — with your hand

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