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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. object — to protest
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ball — a great time
  5. object — an aim
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. ground — a position
  22. object — a thing
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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