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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. hand — help
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. land — to come down
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. hand — in cards
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. land — ground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. season — of the year
  16. land — a country
  17. date — the fruit
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — in sport
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. race — a contest
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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