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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lie — to recline
  3. kid — to tease
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. kid — child
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — ground
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bound — certain
  24. trunk — of a car

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