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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. fall — the season
  6. roll — a cake
  7. field — a subject
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — farmland
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. field — for sport
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. roll — a list

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