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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — to wash
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. shower — rain
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lie — to recline
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. key — in music

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