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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rush — hurry
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. land — a country
  6. court — of a king
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. court — for sport
  9. suit — clothes
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. court — of law
  18. suit — in cards
  19. land — ground
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — not warm
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — to come down

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