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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spell — a short time
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. court — of a king
  8. bass — low music
  9. board — a committee
  10. field — a subject
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — for sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — for digging
  18. season — of the year
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. court — of law
  21. season — in sport
  22. court — for sport
  23. spell — letters
  24. field — farmland

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