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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mate — a friend
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bulb — for light
  6. object — a thing
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bulb — for light
  20. object — to protest
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — for catching
  23. object — an aim
  24. rash — a series

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