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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bore — to tire
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — a city
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spell — magic
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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