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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — to come down
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tube — a container
  5. land — a country
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. land — ground
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fan — a supporter

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