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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — a country
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. mark — a trace
  9. spring — a coil
  10. club — a group
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mark — a grade
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — the season
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. land — ground
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — music

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