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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. current — of water
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. content — happy
  9. craft — a skill
  10. hand — in cards
  11. current — electric
  12. content — the amount
  13. craft — boats
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — letters
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — help
  24. spell — magic

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