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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 116 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. root — the cause
  7. craft — a skill
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — rain
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. craft — boats
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. root — of a word
  18. band — a ring
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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