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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lean — thin
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. game — a match
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — money
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. scale — in music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lean — to bend
  23. scale — size or range
  24. trunk — of a tree

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