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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cell — in biology
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — crushed
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mate — a friend
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. spring — the season
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — of water
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ground — a position
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ground — the earth

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