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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: wake · spell · pit · cell · saw · swing · club · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. club — for golf
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spell — a short time
  5. club — a group
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pit — a hole
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cell — a phone
  17. swing — to play on
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wake — a trail
  23. swing — music
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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