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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. branch — a division
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bound — obliged
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bound — certain
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — low music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rash — a series
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — hasty

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