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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pit — a hole
  4. roll — a cake
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pit — in a race
  11. field — a subject
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — happy
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. field — for sport
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. roll — a list
  24. spell — a short time

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