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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chair — a leader
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. craft — boats
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — in golf
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mine — belonging to me

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