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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. kid — child
  3. net — for catching
  4. face — to confront
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. face — part of the head
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. court — for sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. club — a group
  16. kid — to tease
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. face — to point toward
  19. current — electric
  20. club — for golf
  21. current — of water
  22. cell — a phone
  23. current — happening now
  24. club — for dancing

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