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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pop — music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pop — soda
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. tube — the underground
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pop — to visit
  24. tube — a container

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