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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — to get on
  20. rash — a series
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. hand — in cards
  23. board — a committee
  24. bass — low music

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