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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — in sport
  9. court — of law
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. game — a match
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — wild animals
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — for sport
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. net — for catching
  24. trunk — of a tree

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