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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: stick · bat · fall · rock · wave · ground · mine · trunk

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rock — a stone
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mine — belonging to me

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