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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: wave · cell · bore · trunk · squash · swing · fork · fall

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — music
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bore — to tire
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fall — the season
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bore — gave birth

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