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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. can — a tin
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. can — to be able to
  18. ball — a great time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a dance

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