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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · trunk · bay · kid · cell · club

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kid — child
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. club — a group
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. cell — a phone
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cell — in biology
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wake — a trail

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