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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — of water
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. fine — all right
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fine — high quality
  9. key — in music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ground — crushed
  13. key — the most important part
  14. spring — the season
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bass — low music
  18. ground — a position
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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