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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — to get on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. spring — a coil
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spring — of water
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — clever

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