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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. foot — a measure
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rest — a break
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. lean — to bend
  8. field — a subject
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lean — thin
  13. mark — a grade
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — farmland
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mark — a trace
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rest — what's left

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