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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. capital — a city
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. root — the cause
  5. shower — rain
  6. court — of law
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. root — of a plant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. root — of a word
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — money
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. band — a ring

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