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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fine — all right
  9. rash — a series
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — final
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bass — low music
  15. last — finally
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fine — high quality

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