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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rush — hurry
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. band — a music group
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. foot — a measure
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cue — for pool

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