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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 120 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: wave · deal · rush · row · pitcher · season · cold · trunk

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. trunk — of a car

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