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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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ball — a dance
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. can — to be able to
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. track — a path
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — a country
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — letters
  14. track — a song
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. land — to come down
  18. wind — moving air
  19. can — a tin
  20. land — ground
  21. can — a tin
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. sharp — exactly

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