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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. tube — the underground
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — a country
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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