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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — to confront
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — for digging
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. face — to point toward
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cell — in biology
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. mine — belonging to me

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