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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spring — of water
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. perch — the fish
  9. row — to paddle
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. row — a line
  12. spring — the season
  13. spell — letters
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitch — completely
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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