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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. charge — a price
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. tube — the underground
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. club — for dancing
  11. face — part of the head
  12. club — for golf
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. charge — in control
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — ground
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — a group
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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