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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ground — the earth
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. swing — in golf
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. swing — music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bore — to drill
  16. scale — in music
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ground — crushed
  21. season — of the year
  22. ground — a position
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mine — belonging to me

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