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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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 car
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. net — after costs
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. net — in sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. tube — the underground
  12. shower — rain
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tube — a container
  16. snap — to click
  17. perch — the fish
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. shower — to wash
  22. net — for catching
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pit — in a race

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