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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. swing — in golf
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. swing — music
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fork — in a road
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. shower — to wash
  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