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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — of a king
  3. rash — a series
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — a container
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. court — of law
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. tube — in a tire

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