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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ball — a dance
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — of water
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — in cards
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. hand — help
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spring — the season

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