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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
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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: fall · land · wave · shower · wound · mine · season · trunk

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. season — of the year
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. land — to come down
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wound — an injury

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