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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · dip · spring · firm · band · land · wave · trunk

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. band — a music group
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. firm — steady
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — the season
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. land — a country
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spring — a coil

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