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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. track — a song
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bound — tied together
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. deal — to handle
  19. spring — the season
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. track — to keep track
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spring — a coil

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