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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. drill — a practice
  3. land — to come down
  4. bear — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. shower — rain
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. row — a line
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. land — a country
  13. club — a group
  14. land — ground
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. drill — army training
  19. chair — a leader
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chair — a professorship

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