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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — a country
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. land — ground
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spell — letters
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — in football
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mouse — the animal

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