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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. land — ground
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. land — a country
  12. swing — music
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cap — a hat
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — to come down
  24. can — to be able to

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