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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 · date · pop · chest · suit · land · trunk · shower

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. date — the fruit
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. suit — in cards
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pop — soda
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — to come down
  16. pop — to visit
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — to wash
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. land — a country
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pop — music

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