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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — not warm
  3. firm — a company
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. firm — steady
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. race — a contest
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. firm — decided

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