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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. stem — to come from
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — a lid
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cap — of ice

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