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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. tube — the underground
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. swing — in golf
  9. band — a ring
  10. season — of the year
  11. band — a music group
  12. swing — to play on
  13. court — of law
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. swing — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. file — a document
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. file — a tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. court — of a king

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