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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pop — music
  6. net — for catching
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pop — soda
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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