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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. clip — a video
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. clip — to cut

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