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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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. cue — a hint
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — to eat
  8. tube — the underground
  9. row — a line
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. land — ground
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cue — for pool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. cue — a signal
  24. chip — for betting

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