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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bore — to drill
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. root — the cause
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — of a plant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. shower — rain

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