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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — in cards
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a music group
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. season — of the year
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a document
  24. safe — a strongbox

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