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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. object — an aim
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — the season
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — for sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rush — hurry
  13. spring — of water
  14. court — of a king
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. shower — rain
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. court — of law
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spring — a coil

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