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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rest — a break
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spell — letters
  15. tube — a container
  16. spell — magic
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ground — a position

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