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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · bark · trunk · cap · net · wave · cold · hand

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cap — a lid
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cap — of ice
  9. net — for catching
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. net — in sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — help
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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