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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rock — a stone
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tube — a container
  7. ball — a dance
  8. rock — music
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a great time
  17. content — the amount
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — the underground
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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