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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fork — in a road
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. tube — the underground
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. degree — an amount
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — a box
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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