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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. track — to keep track
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. tube — a container
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. content — happy
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mate — a friend
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. craft — a skill
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. kick — in football
  18. mate — to breed
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mate — a partner

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