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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. object — an aim
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. field — a subject
  8. object — to protest
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. object — a thing
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mug — a face
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mug — a cup
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — a weight

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