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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. ground — a position
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. capital — money
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. fork — in a road
  24. nail — on a finger

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