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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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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: court · wave · rash · trunk · cold · row · bear · suit

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — for sport
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rash — a series
  7. suit — clothes
  8. rash — hasty
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — a line
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. court — of a king
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rash — on the skin

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