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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tube — in a tire

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