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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. kid — to tease
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kid — child
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. toast — bread
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. land — to come down
  13. chest — of your body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. land — a country
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. land — ground
  24. chest — a box

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