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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: net · swing · wave · tear · lash · kid · trunk · shower

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. shower — to wash
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — to tease
  7. net — in sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. net — after costs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. kid — child
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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