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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mug — a cup
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mug — a face
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. ground — the earth
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mug — to rob
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — a position
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. leaves — 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