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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. field — farmland
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — a city
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. hand — help
  21. field — a subject
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. foot — a measure

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