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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — in music
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — a partner
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. scale — size or range
  14. track — to keep track
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. court — of law
  19. rush — hurry
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. track — a path
  23. court — of a king
  24. rush — to hurry

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