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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — money
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. club — for golf
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — a city
  15. tear — to rip
  16. club — for dancing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pop — to visit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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