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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. can — a tin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tube — a container
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chest — a box
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. can — a tin

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