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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mark — a grade
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. foot — a measure
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. game — wild animals
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mark — a trace
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wave — with your hand

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