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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. shower — rain
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. net — in sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. staff — a stick
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. net — after costs
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. staff — employees

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