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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spring — of water
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. land — a country
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — a position
  22. snap — to click
  23. dip — to sink
  24. scale — size or range

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