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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mug — a face
  4. kid — child
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mug — to rob
  7. rule — a law
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. root — the cause
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mug — a cup
  14. rule — government
  15. root — of a word
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wake — a trail
  23. root — of a plant
  24. court — of a king

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