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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: stick · chair · mate · wave · hand · trunk · wound · chip

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. hand — help
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. hand — in cards

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