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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. drill — army training
  3. fine — all right
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. foot — a measure
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. court — of law
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. season — in sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — to drill

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