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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — of law
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. court — of a king
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — a phone
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spell — letters
  24. saw — the tool

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