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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mug — to rob
  3. squash — the sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. spring — the season
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. shower — rain
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mug — a face
  19. shower — to wash
  20. squash — to crush
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mug — a cup
  23. spring — a coil
  24. row — a quarrel

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