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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. current — happening now
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fine — all right
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. kick — in football
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — electric
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chest — a box
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — of ice
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. current — of water
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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