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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. net — for catching
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. net — in sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. net — after costs
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — a country
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rest — a break
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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