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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. 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. trunk — of a car
  2. season — in sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spell — a short time
  11. club — for golf
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. club — a group
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — moving air
  24. 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