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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. track — a song
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ball — a great time
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. snap — to click
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. track — a path
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. trunk — of a car

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