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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. shower — to wash
  6. club — a group
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. root — the cause
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. root — of a word
  12. row — a line
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. shower — rain
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. row — to paddle
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. trunk — of a tree

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