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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bat — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. staff — a stick
  14. hand — in cards
  15. staff — employees
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rest — a break
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. staff — employees

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