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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 116 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — to sink
  6. can — a tin
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. can — a tin
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — to tease
  11. degree — temperature
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. present — a gift
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — the time now
  18. can — to be able to
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. present — there
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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