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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. craft — boats
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to click
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mine — for digging

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