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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. row — a line
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spring — the season

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