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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bass — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mug — to rob
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. spell — magic
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mug — a cup
  18. spell — letters
  19. mug — a face
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — child
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bass — low music
  24. wind — moving air

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