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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — army training
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — the fruit
  10. drill — a practice
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wind — moving air
  13. drill — the tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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