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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. court — of law
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — to bear
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — of a king
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. court — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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