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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. toast — bread
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. foot — a measure
  6. plane — a tool
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — in football
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cold — not warm

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