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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — of law
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wind — moving air
  17. court — for sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fork — in a road
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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