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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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 car
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rash — a series
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rule — government
  7. bat — the animal
  8. toast — bread
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. rule — a law
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — hasty
  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