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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pop — soda
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — music
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. chest — of your body

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