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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — help
  3. spring — of water
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. branch — a division
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spring — the season
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tube — a container
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. field — for sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tube — the underground

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