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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. row — a line
  4. cell — in biology
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. row — to paddle
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. drill — the tool
  18. capital — money
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bowl — a football final

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