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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spring — of water
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spring — the season
  9. suit — in cards
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. suit — to fit
  15. spell — magic
  16. suit — clothes
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. bat — for baseball

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