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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. key — for a lock
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bat — the animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. key — the most important part
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. root — the cause
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. root — of a word
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spell — a short time

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