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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. season — in sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. spring — the season
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rash — a series
  18. cap — a hat
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — of the year
  24. spring — a coil

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