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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 · cell · wave · kick · wind · band · chair · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. band — a music group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a ring
  24. row — a line

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