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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. sharp — clever
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rule — a law
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a face
  11. chest — of your body
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. mug — a cup
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — a list
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rule — government
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chest — a box
  24. ground — crushed

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