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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mark — a grade
  8. object — to protest
  9. scale — size or range
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. object — an aim
  12. scale — in music
  13. mark — a trace
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. object — a thing
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. 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