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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. fall — the season
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — to come down
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. land — ground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  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