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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of a king
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. court — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — a song
  18. court — of law
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. track — a path

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