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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. kick — in football
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. kick — with a leg

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