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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. land — to come down
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pop — soda
  11. court — of a king
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. court — of law
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pop — music
  19. season — in sport
  20. land — ground
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. court — for sport
  23. land — a country
  24. pop — to visit

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