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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. row — a line
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — ground
  13. fall — to drop
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. land — a country
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — to come down

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