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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. dip — to sink
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — to wash
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wound — an injury

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