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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. spell — a short time
  3. field — a subject
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a ring
  11. deal — to handle
  12. field — farmland
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. field — for sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. spell — magic
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. spell — letters
  22. shower — rain
  23. band — a music group
  24. chest — of your body

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