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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spell — a short time
  10. land — ground
  11. cue — for pool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spell — letters
  14. land — to come down
  15. cue — a hint
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — magic
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. land — a country

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