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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a song
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ball — a dance
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. lean — thin
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ball — a great time
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. track — a path
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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