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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rest — what's left
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — the season
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. craft — boats
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. spring — a coil
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — to come down
  17. spring — of water
  18. rest — what's left
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. land — a country
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — a break

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