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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stand — to bear
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — an amount
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — for sport
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wound — an injury
  18. court — of a king
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. kick — in football
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spring — of water
  24. court — of law

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