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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 124 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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. tube — a container
  4. band — a ring
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. roll — a cake
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. roll — a list
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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