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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kick — in football
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pop — music
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. root — the cause
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pop — soda
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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