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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 124 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. present — there
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. present — a gift
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. present — the time now
  16. dip — to sink
  17. ground — the earth
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. track — to keep track
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ground — a position
  24. cell — in biology

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