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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — to come down
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — a country
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stand — to bear
  12. tube — a container
  13. band — a ring
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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