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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bass — low music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury

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