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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. spring — the season
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spring — of water
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spring — a coil
  14. swing — in golf
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. swing — music
  21. last — final
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kid — child

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