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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. land — ground
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — to come down
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. scale — in music
  8. band — a music group
  9. wound — an injury
  10. land — a country
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bear — the animal
  24. sharp — clever

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