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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — to rip
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. tear — from crying
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — a phone

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