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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rest — what's left
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — in biology
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rest — a break
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. root — of a word

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