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

Word bank: file · bear · foot · kick · capital · wind · trunk · wave

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a tool
  5. kick — in football
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bear — the animal
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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