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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 116 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. dip — to sink
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pit — a hole
  8. race — humankind
  9. bass — low music
  10. race — a contest
  11. bass — the fish
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. race — the arms race
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pit — in a race
  24. straw — a straw man

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