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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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Word bank
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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: trunk · pitcher · arm · club · land · rash · bulb · fan

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. club — for golf
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. club — a group
  21. rash — a series
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. land — ground
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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