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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mate — a friend
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. trunk — of a tree

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