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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — of law
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bound — obliged
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — rain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bound — certain
  20. pitch — completely
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mate — to breed

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