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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 120 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. plane — a tool
  9. craft — boats
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. court — for sport
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. court — of a king
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cold — an illness

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