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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rest — what's left
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. scale — in music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. date — the fruit
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — a break
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. scale — for weighing

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