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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mug — a cup
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mug — to rob
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. spring — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — in sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. present — there
  15. foot — a measure
  16. present — a gift
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. season — of the year
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mug — a face
  21. spring — a coil
  22. race — the arms race
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — moving air

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