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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. rock — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a music group
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. dip — to sink
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pop — soda
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rock — a stone
  19. tube — the underground
  20. march — music
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — music
  24. tube — a container

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