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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a friend
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spring — the season
  9. mate — to breed
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. track — a song
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. track — a path
  24. spring — of water

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