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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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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: staff · trunk · net · bowl · wave · sharp · date · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. staff — a stick
  3. net — for catching
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ground — a position
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. net — in sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ground — the earth
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — clever

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