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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tube — the underground
  5. net — in sport
  6. hand — help
  7. land — ground
  8. suit — to fit
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. suit — clothes
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. tube — a container
  20. suit — in cards
  21. land — to come down
  22. lie — to recline
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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