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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 120 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of law
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bank — for money
  14. spell — magic
  15. rock — music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rock — a stone
  18. land — to come down
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. court — of a king
  21. tube — a container
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — a country

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