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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — in a race
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — the month
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — the season
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. sharp — clever
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — of water
  24. pit — a hole

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