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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — a gift
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. present — there
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — humankind
  18. kid — child
  19. present — the time now
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — the arms race
  23. branch — a division
  24. kid — to tease

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