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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cue — for pool
  8. root — of a word
  9. cue — a signal
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. root — the cause
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mark — a grade
  17. ground — a position
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cue — a hint
  20. root — of a plant
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — a box
  24. wind — to turn a key

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