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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: swing · content · wind · lash · pitcher · last · wake · trunk

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. last — to go on
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wake — a trail
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. content — happy
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. content — the amount
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — in golf
  21. last — final
  22. swing — music
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. last — finally

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