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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: trunk · bulb · wave · squash · file · cold · kid · hand

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. file — a tool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. hand — help
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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