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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 · date · bear · ground · cold · wave · land · chip

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — ground
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — of the sea

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