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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lie — to recline
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. spring — of water
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. spring — the season
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — a line
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. spell — a short time
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spell — magic

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