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

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — help
  10. field — a subject
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — for sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — farmland
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of a car

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