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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · club · wind · bat · wave · spell

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. spell — letters
  17. club — for golf
  18. wave — with your hand

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