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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ball — a dance
  3. board — a committee
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spring — of water
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. board — to get on
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mate — a friend
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. land — a country
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — a young animal

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