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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — for light
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — money
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — to get on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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