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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mug — a face
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mug — to rob
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — to cut
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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