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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. key — in music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — in football
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. march — music
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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