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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. land — ground
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — letters
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — a country
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. club — a group
  13. vault — a safe
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hand — help
  18. ground — a position
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. snap — to click
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. spell — magic

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