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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fine — all right
  4. mine — for digging
  5. season — in sport
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — of the year
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. hand — help
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rash — a series
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mine — an explosive

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