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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. dip — to sink
  3. cap — of ice
  4. lean — thin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spring — of water
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — a city
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — money
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — the season
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cap — a lid
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fork — a garden tool

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