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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — thin
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to bend
  8. staff — a stick
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — crushed
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. staff — employees
  17. ground — the earth
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — a position
  20. staff — employees
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. band — a rubber band

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