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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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 a car
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. game — wild animals
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. field — farmland
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. field — a subject
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. date — the fruit
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rash — a series
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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