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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: snap · trunk · land · club · track · bear · tube · fall

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. land — to come down
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a song
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. land — ground
  14. fall — the season
  15. tube — the underground
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. track — a path
  24. club — for golf

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