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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — a country
  3. bear — the animal
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. scale — size or range
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. staff — a stick
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. land — ground
  23. bear — the animal
  24. straw — dry grass

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