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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. dip — to sink
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. tube — a container
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tube — the underground
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. field — farmland
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. stock — goods
  23. game — a match
  24. stock — shares

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