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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. net — for catching
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — after costs
  5. chest — a box
  6. root — of a plant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — government
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a word
  18. rule — a law
  19. root — the cause
  20. net — in sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — for sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. field — farmland

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