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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pass — a permit
  3. ball — a dance
  4. track — a song
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rest — what's left
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pop — soda
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — a break
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. track — a path
  24. pop — to visit

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