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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. dip — to sink
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. last — to go on
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. club — a group
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — final
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. band — a ring
  16. row — to paddle
  17. date — the fruit
  18. last — finally
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. club — for golf
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. row — a line

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