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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. swing — music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stem — to come from
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. spring — of water
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — the season
  24. lash — an eyelash

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