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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pop — soda
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. band — a music group
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bore — to drill
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pass — a permit
  24. spring — of water

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