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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bank — of a river
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bank — for money
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. spell — letters
  14. bank — for money
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ground — a position
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — hasty

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