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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. club — a group
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. root — of a word
  6. club — for golf
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. club — for dancing
  17. sharp — clever
  18. shower — to wash
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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