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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. court — of law
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chest — a box
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bulb — for light
  24. trunk — of a car

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