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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — final
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wake — a trail
  15. last — to go on
  16. row — a line
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. last — finally
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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