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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. spring — a coil
  3. last — final
  4. deal — to handle
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mark — a trace
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chest — a box
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spring — of water
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of a tree

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