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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. dip — to sink
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — a coil
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — after costs
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — in sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bore — to tire
  24. spring — the season

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