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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. mate — to breed
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. land — to come down
  7. clip — for paper
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. mate — a partner
  12. clip — a video
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — to cut
  16. land — a country
  17. kid — child
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. land — ground
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bowl — to roll

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