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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at 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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. file — a document
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. file — a line of people
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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