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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — to visit
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. season — in sport
  7. root — of a word
  8. mate — a friend
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. mate — a partner
  13. staff — employees
  14. scale — size or range
  15. staff — employees
  16. sharp — clever
  17. scale — in music
  18. season — of the year
  19. mate — to breed
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. staff — a stick
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. root — the cause
  24. pop — music

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