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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 · hide · wind · last · bound · pit · wake · wave

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pit — in a race
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — final
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bound — obliged
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. last — to go on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wake — a trail

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