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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. kid — child
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. key — in music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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