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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cap — of ice
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stand — to bear
  15. court — of law
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. court — for sport
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — a hat
  24. fork — in a road

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