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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. race — a contest
  6. hand — help
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. present — there
  14. club — a group
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. present — a gift
  17. race — humankind
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — in cards
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — the time now
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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