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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — in sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. season — of the year
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hand — help
  16. tear — to rip
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — clever
  24. trunk — of a tree

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