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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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 an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. current — happening now
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — all right
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. current — of water
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — of water
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mine — for digging
  14. current — electric
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. swing — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. swing — in golf
  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