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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 116 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: march · wave · shower · calf · saw · trunk · squash · season

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. march — the month
  5. squash — to crush
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. saw — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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