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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fine — all right
  9. court — of a king
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bore — to drill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — of law

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