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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — magic
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. staff — employees
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spell — letters
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. field — for sport
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — a subject
  24. mark — a grade

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