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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: trunk · mine · fall · present · wave · pound · date · chip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. present — there
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. present — the time now
  13. fall — to drop
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. date — the fruit
  19. chip — to eat
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chip — for betting
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fall — the season

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