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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. capital — a city
  6. object — to protest
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rest — a break
  11. snap — to click
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — money
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. object — a thing
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — ground
  23. object — an aim
  24. hand — help

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