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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The flowers bloom in 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 a car
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — the season
  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