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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — of the year
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. shower — to wash
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — rain
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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