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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. suit — clothes
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — the season
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — to drop
  12. suit — to fit
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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