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

Word bank: saw · club · tear · chest · charge · trunk · face · wave

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chest — a box
  7. charge — electricity
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — part of the head
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. tear — from crying
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. club — for dancing
  16. face — to confront
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. charge — a price
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — in control
  23. club — a group
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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