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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rule — a law
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spell — magic
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rule — government
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — letters
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wave — of the sea

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